Anna Politkovskaya - Putin's Russia

At the same time, Budanov and Fedorov ordered the soldiers on guardhouse duty to tie Bagreev up and place him… in a pit…. Budanov then seized Bagreev by his uniform and threw him to the ground. Fedorov booted Bagreev in the face. The soldiers on duty bound Bagreev, who was lying on the ground. Budanov, together with Fedorov, then continued to kick Bagreev….

After this beating, Bagreev was put in the pit, where he was left sitting with his hands and legs tied. Thirty minutes after the beating, Fedorov went back to the pit, jumped in, and punched him in the face at least twice…. This beating was stopped by officers of the regiment…. Several minutes later, Budanov came to the pit. On his orders, Bagreev was pulled out. Seeing that he had succeeded in untying himself, Budanov again ordered the soldiers on duty to tie him up. When this order had been carried out, Budanov and Fedorov again began beating Bagreey…. Bagreev was again put in the pit, bound hand and foot…. Fedorov jumped down and bit him on the right eyebrow. Bagreev was left… until 08.00 hours on March 27, 2000, after which, on Budanov’s orders, he was freed.

At 24.00 hours on March 26, Budanov, acting without instructions from his superiors, decided to go into Tangi personally in order to check out the possible presence, at No. 7 Zarechnaya Street, of members of an IAF. In order to drive to Tangi, Budanov ordered his subordinates to ready armored personnel carrier (APC) No. 391. Before departing, Budanov and the members of the crew armed themselves with standard-issue Kalashnikov-74 assault rifles. At this time, Budanov informed the crew of the APC, namely Sergeants Grigoriev, Yegorov, and Li-En-Shou, that their mission was to arrest a female sniper….

Budanov arrived at Tangi before 01.00 hours…. On his orders, the APC stopped outside No. 7 Zarechnaya Street, where the Kungaeva family lived. Budanov entered the house together with Grigoriev and Li-En-Shou. In the house were Elza Visaevna Kungaeva… along with her four younger brothers and sisters. Their parents were not present. Budanov asked where the parents were. Not receiving an answer, Budanov continued to exceed his authority and in contravention of Federal Law No. 3, “The Struggle Against Terrorism,” Article 13, ordered Li-En-Shou and Grigoriev to seize Elza Visaevna Kungaeva.

Believing themselves to be acting lawfully, Grigoriev and Li-En-Shou seized Kungaeva, wrapped her in a blanket taken from the house, carried her from the house and placed her in the assault compartment of APC No. 391…. Budanov took Kungaeva back to the compound of Army Unit 13 206. On Budanov’s orders, Grigoriev, Yegorov, and Li-En-Shou took Kungaeva, still wrapped in the blanket, to the prefabricated officers’ accommodation which Budanov occupied and placed her on the floor. Budanov then ordered them to remain in the vicinity and not to let anyone through.

Remaining alone with Kungaeva, Budanov began demanding information from her as to the whereabouts of her parents and also information about the routes by which fighters passed through Tangi. when she refused to talk, Budanov, who had no right to interrogate Kungaeva, continued demanding information. Since she refused his demands, Budanov began beating Kungaeva, punching and kicking her many times on her face and different parts of her body. Kungaeva attempted to resist, pushing him away and trying to run out of the accommodation.

As Budanov was convinced that Kungaeva was a member of an IAF and that she had been involved in the deaths of his subordinates in January 2000, he decided to kill her. For this purpose, Budanov seized Kungaeva’s clothing, threw her down on a camp bed, and, clasping the back of her neck, began to squeeze it… until he was sure she no longer showed signs of life….

Budanov’s deliberate actions caused… asphyxia…. Budanov called Grigoriev, Yegorov, and Li-En-Shou into his quarters and ordered them to remove the body and secretly bury it away from the unit. Budanov’s order was obeyed by the crew of APC No. 391. They secretly transported Kungaeva’s body and buried it on one of the forest plantations, as Grigoriev reported back to Budanov on the morning of March 27, 2000.

The accused Budanov and Fedorov, when questioned to respect of the present criminal charges, partly admitted to being guilty of the acts of which they are accused. They changed the testimony they had given at the initial stage of the investigation.

Questioned as a witness on March 27, 2000, Budanov explained that he had driven to Tangi,… discovered mines in one of the houses, and detained two Chechens…. Budanov asserted that nobody had beaten Bagreev up. While carrying out a check of the combat readiness of the intelligence company… , the company had reacted incorrectly to the command “Attack.” A conflict had arisen. Bagreev had insulted Fedorov…. He had then ordered the arrest of Bagreev. Budanov denied that Fedorov had given orders to fire on Tangi, or that the village had been fired on. At the end of the interrogation, Budanov requested permission to write an admission of guilt regarding his having terminated the life of a female relative of citizens who were members of illegal formations in Chechnya.

Further, in an autograph admission of guilt… , Budanov gave the following information. On March 26, 2000, he had departed for the eastern outskirts of Tangi in order to take out or capture a woman sniper…. When they returned to the unit, the girl was carried to his quarters…. A conflict ensued, as a result of which he tore the girl’s blouse and brassiere. The girl continued trying to escape…. He strangled her…. He did not remove the clothing from the lower part of her body…. Budanov called the crew, ordered them to wrap the body in a blanket, drive with it to a forest plantation in the vicinity of the tank battalion and bury her.

Questioned on March 28, 2000, Budanov testified that on March 3, 2000, he had learned from operational sources that a female sniper was living in Tangi…. He had been shown a photograph of her. This information had been made known to him by an inhabitant of Tangi who had personal scores to settle with the fighters…. Detaining the girl, they returned to the regiment…. He dragged her to a far corner of his quarters, threw her down on the camp bed, and began to strangle her…. The commanding officer of the APC came in with the signaler. The girl was lying in the far corner of his quarters, wearing only her pants…. Budanov had been infuriated that she would not say where her mother was. According to information in his possession, on January 15—20, 2000, her mother had used a sniper’s rifle in the Argun Ravine to kill twelve soldiers and officers.

When questioned on March 30, 2000, Budanov partly admitted his guilt…. Budanov partially changed his testimony about Kungaeva’s conduct, saying that she had told him they would get around to him in the end, and that he and those under his command would never get out of Chechnya alive. She had mouthed obscene remarks about his mother and run to the door. Her last remarks had completely infuriated Budanov…. His pistol lay on a table next to the bed. She had tried to seize the pistol. Throwing her back on the bed, he held Kungaeva by the throat with his right hand and with his left hand held her arm to prevent her from reaching the pistol….

[These gradual changes to Budanov’s testimony occurred because the Kremlin and the military establishment, having recovered from their shock at the unexpected audacity of the prosecutor’s office in allowing itself to arrest a decorated, serving colonel, began to pressure the officials conducting the investigation. As a result, they started coaching Budanov as to what he should say, to minimize the legal consequences and possibly even escape criminal responsibility completely.]